Coast Guard boat pilot sentenced to three months

Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Paul Ramos, right, leaves a military courthouse with his attorney Lt. Steven M. Shepard, left, after a verdict in Alameda, Calif., Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Ramos was the driver of a Coast Guard vessel involved in a collision that left a child dead on San Diego Ba

/ AP

Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Paul Ramos, right, leaves a military courthouse with his attorney Lt. Steven M. Shepard, left, after a verdict in Alameda, Calif., Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Ramos was the driver of a Coast Guard vessel involved in a collision that left a child dead on San Diego Bay. He was acquitted Tuesday of involuntary manslaughter. A jury also found Ramos guilty of the lesser charge of dereliction of duty for failure to conduct a risk assessment. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Paul Ramos, right, leaves a military courthouse with his attorney Lt. Steven M. Shepard, left, after a verdict in Alameda, Calif., Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Ramos was the driver of a Coast Guard vessel involved in a collision that left a child dead on San Diego Bay. He was acquitted Tuesday of involuntary manslaughter. A jury also found Ramos guilty of the lesser charge of dereliction of duty for failure to conduct a risk assessment. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) (/ AP)

Coast Guard boat driver Paul Ramos will serve three months in a military jail, lose one rank and $3,900 in pay for his role in the death of a Rancho Penasquitos boy in December, 2009, according a sentence handed down Wednesday by a military jury.

The same Coast Guard jury on Tuesday convicted Ramos, 22, of a single count of dereliction of duty, throwing out the stiffer charges of negligent homicide, involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Ramos was driving the 33-foot Coast Guard patrol boat that crashed into the rear of a smaller civilian boat during the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights, killing 8-year-old Anthony DeWeese.

The DeWeese family, who was in the courtroom during the two-week general court-martial, has said they are devastated by the jury’s decision to convict Ramos on only the most minor charge against him.

The dereliction of duty conviction carries a sentence of no more than three months in jail, forfeiture of 2/3 salary during that time and reduction in rank.

The jury gave Ramos the maximum time in jail, which is expected to occur at the military brig at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, but they allowed him to keep some rank. He’ll go from a 3rd class petty officer to a seaman.

Ramos’ speed at the time of the 2009 has been estimated at between 15 and 30 knots. It was a dark night and the bay was filled with hundreds of boats decorated with holiday lights.

Five Coast Guard crew members were aboard the patrol boat. Of those, four were charged, though Ramos quickly became the focus of the prosecution.

A dereliction of duty charge against Machinery Technician 3rd Class Lavelle Teague was thrown out for lack of evidence. In January, Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Brittany Rasmussen pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty and received a reprimand.

The highest-ranking person on the patrol boat, Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Ian Howell, a reservist, is still awaiting trial in a special court-martial. If convicted, he would serve a year or less in jail.

The Coast Guard is still conducting an internal administrative investigation into the crash. When finished, it could lead to policy changes. The National Transportation Safety Board is also preparing a report.

(An earlier version of this story was corrected on the issue of forfeiture of pay. Ramos will lose $1,300 a month for three months.)